Files | Advanced

Share a file with someone outside your team

You can share a file with people outside your team (if they are also using Teams) by sending it to them in a chat.

If you want to share a file with someone outside your organization, open the file in Office Online or an Office app and share it from there.

Move or copy files

To rename, move, or copy a file, open the Files tab in the channel. Select the file > Rename > Move or Copy in the top menu bar. You can also right click on any file or select More options .

You can move files:

Within the same team.

Within the same OneDrive.

Within the same document library of a SharePoint tab.

You can copy files:

Within the same team.

Between teams.

Between OneDrive and a team.

From a SharePoint tab to the same document library, a team, or a OneDrive.

Additionally, when you're editing an Office file from within Teams, you can rename it by selecting the name of the file or by selecting File > Rename.

If you open an Office file outside of Teams using Office for desktop or Office for the web, you'll also be able to rename and move or save a copy from there.

Note: You don't need to copy a file to share it in multiple channels. Instead, share a link to it.

Recover deleted files

If you deleted files from a Files or SharePoint tab and you want them back, don’t despair. Just open the channel or tab where the files were and click Open in SharePoint. Once the SharePoint site opens, click Recycle bin from the left bar, and your deleted files should be right there.

File storage

Files that you share in a channel are stored in your team's SharePoint folder. Which can be found in the Files tab at the top of each channel.

Files that you share in a private or group chat are stored in your OneDrive for Business folder and are only shared with the people in that conversation. These will be found in the Files tab at the top of a chat.

Note: The OneDrive files you see in Teams are OneDrive for Business files associated with your Office 365 account—not your personal OneDrive. Teams can't currently connect to your personal OneDrive.

Add a cloud storage service

Got files stored in the cloud? No problem.

In the desktop or web app, click Files on the left side of the app, and then click Add cloud storage. Pick your cloud storage service from the list that comes up.

As of right now, you can share files from Box, Dropbox, Dropbox for Business, Google Drive, and ShareFile in Teams.

Sign in with your account. You might need to turn off your pop-up blocker first.

Now you can add files from the cloud as well as from your computer to channels.

Share a file from cloud storage

Add a cloud file to a channel conversation

In the desktop or web app, go to the conversation, click Choose file beneath the compose box, and pick your cloud storage service from the menu. Now you can pick the file you want to add.

Note: Contact your IT admin if cloud storage options don't appear.

Add a cloud file to a chat

We don't currently support sharing files from cloud storage services like Box or Dropbox in one-on-one or group chats. You can still attach files from your OneDrive account to a chat message, though.

Share a folder from cloud storage

Sharing a folder with a channel gives the rest of your team access to your documents.

In the desktop or web app, go to the Files tab in your channel of choice. Click Add cloud storage, then select the service you want. If you haven't done so already, you'll need to sign in to your account to access your files.

Once you see your folders, pick the one you'd like to share with the channel. (All you OneDrive users stay tuned—support for adding folders from your OneDrive account is coming soon.)

Cloud storage sign-in issues

If you're having problems signing in to your cloud storage service, there’s probably a pop-up blocker running. If Teams stops responding when you try to sign in to cloud storage, make sure your pop-up blocker is off and try again